Just One Kiss
by HPFangirl71
Summary: What starts as chance meetings between two people in need turns into love...


**Just One Kiss…**

Just one kiss… yes that's how it had all started between Ginny and Draco. One brief tentative kiss filled with the heat of shared passions. Neither expected any more after that. Their romance had come as an unexpected surprise to everyone… even them.

That kiss had happened almost a year ago. It was the summer after the unthinkable had happened at Hogwarts. Dumbledore's death at the hands of Professor Snape had shocked many. Hearts had been heavy with grief at the time. Then Draco Malfoy had the audacity to show up asking for immunity. He had claimed repentance for his crimes. No one was sure weather his story was believable. Many were outraged that Harry had allowed him into the order. In return, Draco had provided vital information resulting in many death eater captures. Draco's ability to help out was his only saving grace.

Voldemort had been quick to gain power after Dumbledore's demise. The order had been forced into hiding… Grimauld place and the Burrow were unsafe at the time. They took up residence in the nearby countryside. The farmhouse was large and roomy, yet Draco's presence irritated many. His motives were largely second guessed. This led Draco to lead a quiet life of solitude even while living amongst so many.

Draco wasn't the only one living a life of self inflicted solitude. Since Dumbledore's demise, things hadn't been the same between Harry and Ginny. Ginny had taken to avoiding everyone in an effort to survive… She was drowning in the heartache with no one there to pull her out. The last person she ever expected to notice her pain was Draco Malfoy.

Draco had noticed Ginny's pain only because it so closely resembled his own. He saw it hidden deep within her eyes. He wanted to reach out and help her, yet how could he? No one in the order had forgiven or forgotten his transgressions. Who could blame them? Was he not the son of a once powerful death eater? Did he not bear the mark of such servitude himself? Had he not allowed evil to enter Hogwarts, endangering his friends and classmates? Draco's guilt over his past actions overwhelmed him… He felt there was little he could do to put things right. These thoughts were what kept him up at nite, while Ginny Weasley battled her own nocturnal demons.

Ginny felt unwanted… overshadowed… and lonely. These were the demons which haunted her heart. These were the reasons she was awake that hot summer's eve. She had snuck out to the garden to sit under the apple tree. She was lost in thought as Draco approached her. She didn't hear him till he was standing next to her. She startled when he said her name.

"Oh sorry, I didn't hear you coming…" she mumbled. He didn't say a word, but just sat down next to her. They both sat in silence, each unsure of what to say to the other. They sat there for a couple hours in dead silence. Each was lost in their own thoughts, lost within their own tragic worlds. It felt strange to sit so close to one another, yet oddly comforting.

Draco broke the eerie silence, saying something about getting some sleep. Ginny agreed with him. Draco stood up and reached his hand down to help her up. Startled by his kind gesture, she accepted his help. Her small hand felt light in his large masculine one. Ginny thanked him and smiled shyly at him. Draco returned her smile with an uncertain smirk of his own. With this, they parted company and went back to the dreadful solitude.

This went on night after night… week after week… They met in the garden, sitting in silence. Neither saying much of anything, yet they felt and shared one another's pain. Ginny's world of heartache and Draco's guilt and remorse had suddenly merged together. They were each others saving grace and always it ended with Draco taking her hand.

Late that summer found Ginny and Draco quietly sharing one of their evenings together… An early fall chill was in the air, Ginny shivered slightly. Draco removed his bathrobe to place upon her shoulders. As he untangled her hair from the collar he felt a tingle of electricity in the air .

He'd never know what it was that compelled him to act so boldly, but suddenly his lips were tentatively exploring hers. He expected her to pull away but instead she was responding… Her hand reaching into his hair, grasping and pulling him closer. He felt her desire and need for him, it made him pull away. "Ginny… we should stop." he said to her. She looked confused and upset.

"I don't understand… why?" she whispered. It was hard for Draco to back away when he saw the hurt in her eyes. "You don't want me, Ginny! People get hurt around me! I'm nothing but trouble. Have you truly forgotten who I am?" he spat out at her. He raised his arm to show the Dark Mark hidden there.

Instead of fear in her eyes, he saw something he couldn't quite read. She moved closer to him and whispered "I know who you used to be Draco. It doesn't scare me cause I know who you are now. The war has changed us all, some for the better." Before he know what was happening, her lips were again on his. This time he didn't hold back.

Nothing more happened that night… just a few kisses stolen amidst the summer chill. What did happen that evening was that Ginny and Draco found each other. They grew closer than any two people ever could. It put an end to Ginny's heartache and somewhere in those kisses, Draco found forgiveness. Ginny was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he vowed never to let her down. He became an intricate part of the Order and finally earned the respect of many who had doubted him.

That summer was what had brought them to this late spring evening. Draco stood nervously waiting for her under the apple tree, Harry at his side. Ginny stood near her father on the other side of the garden. She looked beautiful in white satin and lace. They were here with friends and family to celebrate a love that had quietly snuck up on them. As Ginny took her father's arm, tears of joy touched her eyes. She walked slowly down to meet him with Hermione leading the way. Only this time wasn't out of heartache and regrets. This time they came together to seal their fates in wedded bliss with just one kiss…


End file.
